This invention relates to a valve for use in a beverage dispensing device.
Concentrated juices, such as orange juice or lemonade, may be shipped frozen in a plastic container which is disposable or refillable. One type of container which is used to ship concentrated juice has a threaded opening onto which an adapter with a ball valve is screwed. The adapter has a threaded portion at one end, and a reduced diameter cylindrical portion with a spring mounted ball valve at the end opposite the threaded portion.
A dispenser concentrate control valve for a bag-in-box type of container is available from Jet Spray Corp. of Norwood, Mass., and is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,856,676 and 5,000,348, each of which are assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, and each of which are expressly incorporated by reference.
To install this general type of valve with a container, a cap is unscrewed and discarded. The valve has a threaded portion or a threaded adapter which can be screwed onto the threaded opening of the container. With the adapter and ball valve arrangement, the adapter would be discarded, and the valve screwed on with its own adapter.
A drawback of this arrangement is that a user, such as an employee in a restaurant or diner, must remove the adapter and add the dispenser valve each time a new container is used. Many restaurants have a fast-paced environment so restaurant managers do not want to expend any extra time and effort replacing food items.
Another arrangement that has been used with a ball valve includes a stationary pin which contacts the ball valve when the container is inserted. With this arrangement, it is cumbersome to rinse the system since the flow of juice cannot be stopped unless the container is removed. This, too, is a cumbersome system and is undesirable in the fast-paced food service environment.